Community of American Fork

About American Fork

American Fork is the perfect combination of small town feel and regional hub of Utah County. With interstate 15 running through the city, there’s convenient access up and down the Wasatch Front. 30 minutes from downtown SLC and 20 minutes from Provo, American Fork is also home to a hospital, the Alpine School District headquarters, and the Meadows shopping district.

With 71% of the houses in American Fork being unattached single resident properties, with 75% of the households having a married couple, and with 57.45% of the households having children under 18 years old in them, American Fork has an extremely strong appeal to couples with young children.

Abounding in outdoor recreation opportunities, and with a well-educated workforce and low business costs, American Fork is a great choice for both families and businesses.

Real Estate

American Fork is a great place to live with just over 28,000 residents and a lot of things going for it.

James H. Hadfield, Mayor of American Fork said,

“The commercial base is exceptional. We no longer have to travel to do shopping. The cost of homes, cost of living, the cost of utilities make this a very nice community.

"What's also important is the quality of life, library, recreation center, recreation programs, the arts. There are not many cities our size that have a symphony or a choral group. We even have a brass band."

There is a great range in home size and prices in American Fork, with many well established neighborhoods and a few newer neighborhoods as well.

One great thing about the city of American Fork is the home ownership percentage is high. This generally bodes well for community crime and local school rankings as you’ll see below.

American Fork has a rich history, being established in the 1850’s by Mormon settlers. Of the homes in American Fork, 50% were built between 1970 and 1999 with the remaining 50% split almost exactly between pre 1969 and post 2000.

AGE OF AMERICAN FORK HOMES

HOME VALUE RANGE

Another fact about American Fork housing is that over 30% of the homes have 5 or more bedrooms. This is interesting but small surprise for a community that has a LOT of children running around.

Area Stats

Population

American Fork’s population is 93% white with 37.66% being children under the age of 17. With slightly over 16% being over 55 years old, this is a young city with a lot of families.

Income

American Fork’s estimated median household income comes in at $67,568. This is higher than Utah’s estimated median household income of $59,770.

Education

94% of American Fork’s adult population graduated from High School. Just over 33% graduated from college compared to 21.84% nationwide. This statistic makes the high average of blue collar workers make sense. 14% of the workforce work in education, 13% in retail and 13% in healthcare.

Climate

Bestplaces.net’s comfort index places American Fork 66 out of 100. Where higher is more comfortable, this is a good rating considering the U.S. average is 44.

American Fork is on the drier side with 16.5 inches of rain as compared to the national average of 37 inches of rain per year. With snowfall of 41.7 inches in American Fork it is considerably more than the 25 inches for the average U.S. city.

There are 230 sunny days per year in American Fork with 90 days of rain, measured by at least .01 inches. The annual high in July is 91 degrees while the average low in January is 19.7 degrees.

Crime

Surprisingly, the FBI crime data, places American Fork near the average for all other communities of similar size across the United States. Not more or less dangerous- right in the middle of the pack.

This can be a little misleading as this an overall crime rating not taking into account whether it’s violent crime or property crime that is the major contributor. As you might have guessed, violent crime (assault, rape, murder, armed robbery) is significantly lower in American Fork than the rest of Utah, with your chances of being a victim to violent crime being 1 in 1564 as compared to 1 in 464 for the entire state.

The property crime (motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, burglary) is lower than 70% of the other Utah cities with your chances of being a victim to property crime 1 in 47, as compared to 1 in 35 for the entire state of Utah.

Schools

American Fork is home to 7 schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle school and 1 high school. There are 7, 560 students enrolled in these schools and overall American Fork schools rank 7 out of 10 per the greatschools.org national ranking system.

Local Attractions

There is a lot to do in American Fork, which is popular for its outdoor trails, biking, hiking, and outdoor recreational opportunities. From American Fork’s Boat Harbor at Utah Lake, to one of the 15 national parks, monuments and recreational areas in Utah, American Fork is within a half days drive of everything.

Shopping

American Fork’s largest shopping district is the Meadows, located on Main Street. Big brand retailers like Walmart, Old Navy, Pier 1, Kohls, Target, and Home Depot are located here as well as dozens of smaller brands.

Dining

American Fork has a ton of restaurant options, especially in The Meadows district. Here’s a small sampling of what’s in American Fork:

For years, the jewel of California, the In-N-Out franchise finally branched out and graced American Fork with one of their first Utah locations. Always busy and always delicious, In- N- Out is a great lunchtime option.

A home grown favorite of Utah valley, Café Zupas is the go-to hot spot for soccer moms and businessmen alike. With fantastic salads (try their Nuts about Berries!), delicious hot panini sandwiches (turkey bacon avocado is a sure bet), and huge selection of soups (the tomato basil with orzo pasta is my fav!)

Started by the owners of Café Rio in 2014, Wild Zucchini has fast become a name with a delicious Italian menu. Offering thin crust pizza’s, chopped salad bowls, pasta bowls, and Piadinas (Italian flatbread sandwich wrapped like a burrito and put in a bowl), this simple menu has so many topping options, you could go every day for a couple months and not try the exact same thing twice.

Steel Days

Starting the first part of July every year, American Fork’s Steel Days is a 5-day celebration starting on Tuesday and culminating with the parade and firework show on Saturday. With events ranging from an awesome parade, 3-day carnival, 5 and 10k fun runs, a children’s parade, marching band breakfast, art, quilt, and flower show as well as a car show, youth dance, and picnic and movie in the park, there’s a ton of ways to get involved and have a great time during Steel Days.

Recreation

Youth Sports

American Fork has a lot of opportunities for youth to get involved in athletics. There are local leagues for baseball, softball, basketball flag football, golf, outdoor spring and fall soccer, tennis, and ultimate Frisbee.

For full details on all the leagues and camps, check out the American Fork Youth Sports page HERE.

Adult Sports

American Fork also offers adults a few leagues including coed kickball and men’s basketball.

Local Community Fitness Centers

American Fork’s fitness center has a nice gym for lifting weights, a great cardio room, an indoor running track, racquetball and more.

Memberships can be purchased as an individual or for the entire year. Summer passes can even be purchased at a discount. Residents get a discount but nonresidents of American Fork can use the facility as well.

Attached to the fitness center is the pool facility which includes an indoor competition pool with a diving board, shallow kiddy area, and a hot tub. The outdoor portion has a huge pool, a lazy river, play area, kiddie pool and more.

Thinking of buying a home in American Fork, Utah?

Hi! My name is Griffin. I’m a real estate agent and have spent a lot of time working in American Fork, Utah. I’ve put this page together to help you learn more about this great community. I have done a lot of business in American Fork and I know the market inside and out and I can vouch it’s a wonderful place to live. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have as you consider buying a home here. I can be reached at 801-712-9999

In the meantime, please feel free to look through the featured properties below of currently for sale homes in American Fork.